Method of making fashioned weft knit fabric



Nov.A 4, 1952 c. s. BENNINGTON METHOD oF MAKING FAsHIoNED wEFI KNIT FABRIC 6 Sheets-Shes# 2 i Filed Aug. 7, 1947 /m/e/ /Or Char/as 5 Benn/ngon By his a/forneys Nov. 4, 1952 c. s. BENNINGTON METHOD 0F MAKING FASHIONED WEFT KNIT FABRIC Filed Aug. 7, 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 /nvenfor Char/es SBenn/hg/on By /7/'s attorneys MMM dln-9( M f Nov. 4, 1952 c. s. BENNINGTON 2,616,275

METHOD oF MAKING FASHIONED wEFT KNIT 41am-uc:

Filed Aug. '7, 194'? 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 /nVe/or Char/@55. Benn/hymn By his a//omeys Nov 4, 1952 c. s. BENNINGTON METHOD OF MAKING FASHIONED WEFT KNIT FABRIC 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 7. 1947 ,w m m AC 5s s@ wm HM m h, w

C. S. BENNINGTON METHOD OF MAKING FASHIONED WEFT KNIT FABRIC Nov. 4, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. '7. 194'? F/GXX Patented Nov. 4, 1952 METHOD OF MAKING FASHIONED WEFT KNIT FABRIC Charles S. Bennington, Roosevelt, N. Y., assignor of one-half to CharlesV H. Bennington, Roosevelt, N. Y.

Application August 7, 1947, Serial No. 767,222

8 Claims.

This invention relates to fashioned weft knit fabric containing special stitches at selected points, and the method of making same, and more particularly to fabric widened by the addition of wales, with the special stitches located so as to eliminate eyelet holes at the points of widening. It is characteristic of my invention that closed special stitches which cover the eyelet holes, if any, are made by a novel latch twist method that is carried out on regular latch needles. Some forms of my fabric are characterized by double crossed stitches to close the eyelet holes, while in other forms a special double stitch with crossed legs is provided where the fabric is widened two wales simultaneously.

Closed stitches, i. e., weft knit stitches whose legs are crossed over each other, have heretofore been used to close eyelet holes in widened fabric, as shown, for example, in the old Emerson PatentNo. 550,874, dated December 3, 1895, for Tubular Knit Fabric. The special stitch in that patent is one in which the legs are crossed over once so that the yarn coming` from one side of the needle wale is interlaced in the fabric on'the opposite side of the stitch. This is produced by a manipulation of the yarn and specialv needle so as to cross the yarn behind or under the shank of the needle. This manner of manipulation has certain disadvantages and results in only the plain closed stitch in which the legs of the stitch are crossed but once. This plain crossed stitch can be produced by my latch twist method, or a stitch having a double cross can be produced by a special combination of the two. I shall hereafter designate a closed stitch having a single cross as a crossed stitch; and a closed stitch having the legs crossed twice, i. e., so that the yarn coming from one side of the needle is intertwined with the other yarn and engaged in the fabric on that same side of the stitch, I shall hereafter designate as a twisted stitch. The twisted stitch has many advantages over the crossed stitch in eliminating eyelet holes, as will be explained later. In cases where the fabric is being widened two wales at a time instead of one, one of the two crossings is employed to lock together the legs of the stitch in one of the wales and thus to pull the wales closer together.

The invention will be shown and described used to produce a fashioned orthopedic sock on a Lamb V-bed knitting machine, but it should be understood that it can be used in making any fashioned weft fabric by reciprocatory knitting.

In the drawngs:

Figure I is a diagram of the interlacement of the stitches in part of a widened portion of an orthopedic sock made in accordance with my invention, two single-Wale twisted stitches being shown;

Figure II is a similar diagram of a twisted stitch where the fabric is widened two wales at once;

Figures III to IX are a series of diagrammatic views, in perspective, of the needles and the two beds of a Lamb machine, showing successive stages in the making of the twisted stitches in the fabric of Fig. I; Fig. III showing the special needle extended and the yarn laid in its hook in direct succession to the needles of the opposite bed; Fig. IV showing all the active needles retracted in their beds, the special needle merely drawing a bight of yarn, but the others drawing stitches; Fig. V showing the special needle projected again so that its bight of yarn lies below its latch, while the adjacent needles in the same bed are being projected to clear their latches also; Fig. VI showing the yarn guide moved to the right, thereby completing the wrapping of the yarn around the special needle; Fig. VII showing the special and adjacent needles retracted, completing the crossings of the legs of the stitch on the special needle; Fig. VIII showing the needles in the rear bed advanced to clear their latches on the next course; and Fig.

IX showing the stitches of the next course on the rear bed knocked over and the twisted stitch hanging in the fabric;

Figures X, XI and XII are a series of diagram-n matic views similar to Figs. III to IX but showing certainv stagesvin the making of a plain crossed stitch by my latch twist method; Fig. X showing a stage corresponding to Fig. VI except that the yarn from the previous needle comes to the special needle from the adjacent needle in the same bedinstead of the opposite bed; Fig. XI showing a stage corresponding to Fig. VII; and Fig. XII showing only smaller parts of the beds and corresponding to Fig. IX, i. e., the crossedstitch hanging in the fabric;

Figures XIII to XIX are a series of diagrammatic views of needle and yarn interaction showing the manipulation leading up tol the twisted stitch formed where the fabric is widened' two Wales at once, as in Fig. II; Fig. XIII showing the two special needles from opposite banks projected after the yarn guide has laid the yarn in the direction indicated by the arrow; Fig. XIV showing the yarn laid toward the top of the figure and in the hooks of the two special needles and those needles retracted, the yarn going back to the needles in the same bed as the first special needle, i. e., the yarn alternating from the left bed to the right bed for one needle and back to the left bed; Fig. XV showing the needles in the right bed projected till their latches clear and take new yarn, as indicated yby the arrow; Fig. XVI showing the second special needle, i. e., in the right bed, after knocking over its stitch; Fig. XVII showing the first special needle in the left bed projected till it clears its. latch; Fig. XVIII showing the yarn laid in the hook of the first special needle as indicated by the arrow; Fig. XIX showing the interlacement of the yarn after the first special needle has knocked over its stitch, the positions of the two needles being reversed to show the interlacementmore clearly; while Figure XX is a diagram of the interlacement of the stitches near one end of the suture of a typical heel or toe of a seamless stocking Iin Vwhich my twisted stitch of Fig. I is employed.

Closed stitches, i. e., ones whose legs crosseach other, as distinguished from the open stitches of ordinary weft knitting, have been known throughout the history of knitting, but their production selectively in desiredcourses and Ywales has been achieved only at the expense of special elements to operate on the yarns, or with great restrictions in the combinations which can be produced. It has heretofore been known to produce Aa plain crossed stitch on an' ordinary latch needle by so manipulating the yarn and the needle as to `cause the loop, inpassing fromthe front of the shank to the back, to become crossed. I have found a` method byA whichV the latch of a latch needle can be availed of to cross the legs of the loop and, further, tc combine this with the crossing found-in the said Emerson Patent No. 550,874, so as to produce a double crossed or twisted stitch. Whilelf shall now give a general description of how these crossings are obtained, I should like atV thispoint to mention that I have discovered a way in which this twisted stitch can be located directly'cver the eyelet which ordinarilyoccurs in weft knit fabric'where it is widened by the addition of a wale or'adiacent thereto, as desired.

Themanners in which a plain or single crossingof the legs of a stitch has heretofore been obtainedsare three in number, but are all characterized by the fact' that after the initialY manipulation the crossed loop hangs on vthe shank of the needle with each endof the yarn lgoing to theY far side of the needle and thence up and over the shank of thed needle. This twisting can be obtained b v the use 'of special elements associated with the needles, by means of bearded needles whose beards are permanently twisted aroundthe shank for 180, or'by a manipulation ofthe general character Vof that shown in the above-mentioned Emerson patent. The Emerson method, being the simplest of the three and adapted for production of -a special stitch at selected points in a regular fabric,^wi11 be the one describedhere.

The essentials of the Emerson movement are that the yarn approaches the needle on which the stitch is desired fromone side and leaves it on the other, thus causing the yarn to cross itself, sinceA the yarn wraps around the shank of the needle in between its approach and departure. The wrapping'of the yarn around the shank of the needle can be obtained in one of two Wayseither the'yarn'can rst be passed under the either case.

shank and then brought back over the top of the shank in the hook, or it can rst be laid on top of the shank in the hook and then passed under the shank. The important thing to remember about the formation of the plain crossing in accordance with the Emerson method is that to obtain the crossing the yarns must radiate from the needles at say right angles to each other, as, for example, by having the approaching yarn come from the preceding needle which knit. Thus, inthe machine shown in the drawings of the present application the yarn comes to the special needle on which the crossed stitch is to beA made, from the opposite needle bed. For example, this is also true in the manipulation which starts with Fig. IV of the drawings. In any case, it is the shank around which the wrapping i-s made in the first instance.

My novel latch twist method can be performed in such manner as to get this single crossing with or without the addition of a second crossing, due to the manner in which the yarn approaches and leaves the special needle, and without feeding the yarn under the shank of the needle at all in twist method can be used to obtain the twisted stitch of Fig. I ofthe drawings where the legs are crossed over each other twice. In making this construction, I will follow the sequenceV of operations of Figs. III to IX, where Vthe machine is knitting an orthopedic sock on a V-bed of the Lamb type of machine. For purposes of this description, the bed closest the'observer in these perspective'views will be called front bed l.

and the rearmost bed, rear bed 2. The needles in the front bed arenumbered 3, 4, 5, 6 (reading from right to left), kand the needles in the rear bed are numbered 1, 8, 9, i0, Il and l2 (reading from left toright) Referring more particularly, forY the moment, to Fig. III, the fabric beingknit is'tubular, the knitting progressing from right to left on the front bed I, and from left to right on the back bed 2. At the stage of knitting shown in this f figure, the yarn I3 has been laid from right to left by the yarn guide I4, the yarn having been laid in thehooks of the front bed needles in the order 3', 4, 5, 6, and the needles having been elevated or projected for this purpose. The machine has knit several previous courses, and the last preceding course in which vthe part that is visible on the back bed 2 is marked with the reference character l5, was made on the'needles 8, .5, I il, Il', I2. The machine is at the stage where it is desired to widen the fabric by one Wale and this is to be made by introducing an added needle at the left end of the knitting as it appears fin this gure. For this purpose the needle 1 from the back bed, which is adjacent to the needle 8 that has heretofore 'been the end needle in the back bed, is projected far enough so that at the same time the needles 3, 4, 5, 5 received the yarn I3, this same yarn was laid in the hook of the needle 1. This is the stage shown in Fig. III. This new needle 'I will be identied `in this application as the special needle, and it is the yarn manipulationson that needle which will be used to produce my novel latch twisted stitch in which the legs of the stitch are crossed twice, as

or end needle 6 inthe front bed, needles .3 1-l are all retracted. On the needles 3-6 this causes I will first describe howV my latchV knocking over of a stitch, the rdrawing of a new loop on each stitch, but in the case of the special needle 1 in the rear bed it merely results in the drawing of a bight of yarn in the hook of the needle. While the yarn guide I4 remains in its position beyond the left end of the two beds, the special needle 1, followed in succession by the needles B to I2 in the rear bed, are projected and clear their latches. If desired, the needles can be retracted silghtly after the latches have cleared, which would leave the yarns and needles in the relation shown in Fig. V, although this bringing of the free end of the yarn I3 from the yarn guide under the latch I6 of the needle 1 can be vachieved in other ways. It should be noted at this point that the yarn coming from the yarn guide I4 should be kept under tension by a spring tension device (not shown) associated with the yarn guide, such tension device being the ordinary type used on machines during reciprocatory knitting. It will now be seen that. as viewed in Fig. V, the yarn from the preceding stitch approaches the special needle 1 from the right side, namely, from the side on which is located the next needle that is to knit. This bight of yarn, whi-ch is indicated with the reference character I1, therefore lies between the needle 1 and needle 8 that is next to knit, although it comes from the needle B which is the preceding needle in the tubular fabric. From this bight I1 coming from the preceding needle B, the yarn passes under the latch to the left side of the needle, i. Ie., away from needle 8. The next stage is shown in Fig. VI where it will be seen that the yarn guide I4 has passed over the beds from left to right and laid the yarn I3 in the hooks of the special needle 1 and the next needles to knit, namely, B, 9, I0, and II. This movement has two effects. In the rst pla-ce, it wraps the yarn completely around the latch I6; and in the second place, the yarn I3 coming from the guide I4 crosses over the bight I1, which latter is coming from the needle 6 in the opposite bed I to the special needle 1. Thereafter the special needle 1, along with the other needles in the back Ibed 2, is drawn down, i. e.. retracted, which causes the latch I5 of the special needle 1 to be closed and the twist in the yarn, rst apparent in Fig. VI where it is wrapped around the latch, slides up the latch onto the h-ook to the top of the needle, as shown in Fig. VII.

-It will now be seen that by the time the loop is hanging downwardly on the shank of the needle when the needle is next projected, the two legs of the stitch will have been crossed over each other twice to give a full twisted stitch. This is the special stitch indicated by the reference characters I8 and I9 in Fig. I. To enable this stitch of Fig. I to be recognized on the needles in the series of views which I have been describing, it might be noted that the knitting is progressing from top to bottom in this figure, so that the loops at the top of the figure are sinker loops and the loops facing downward are the needle loops. Assuming for the moment that the upper special stitch I8 in Fig. I is the one which was made in Fig. VII, it will be seen that the needle loop which was twisted around the shank of the needle 1 in Fig. VII was the loop indicated by the reference character 20 in Fig. I, and that the leg I1 indicated in Fig. V is the leg on the left` of the needle loop in Fig. I. 'I'he finishing of the incorporation of this stitch in the fabric and getting it oi the needles are shown in Figs. VIII i 4and IX. Fig. VIII shows the 'needles 1 to II'in the back bed projecting with the stitches, including the special stitch cleared below the latches preparatory to receiving the yarn for the next course; while Fig. IX shows the special stitch hanging on the bight of yarn held by the hook of the special needle 1after the yarn has been fed again from left to right and the stitches knocked over by retraction of the needles in the back bed.

`Further with regard to this stitch, it should be noted that the leg I1 becomes incorporated in the l fabric, due t-o this double twist, on the same side as the one on which it is connected to theneedlev loop 2|] (see Fig. I). The loop 2| returns from the crossing operation with the other leg to the same side on which it started.v This double crossing or twist, as I have termed it, creates a s-ort of bar which greatly hinders thev sliding of' the two legs on each other and helps to ll up the" It will be notedthat when the special stitch is made in the manner just' eyelet in the fabric.

described, the twisting of the two legs occurs centrally of what would otherwise be an eyelet in the fabric, but I will describe later on how the stitch is made. As shown in Figs. X, XI and XII,

the obtaining of the single crossing of the legs of the special stitch by my latch twist without having the second crossing is due primarily to the direction from which the yarns approach 'the special needle. My novel method permits the crossing of the legs of the special stitch not only' without passing the yarn under the Shanks of the needles in feeding the yarn, but also by bringing the yarn to and from the needle in parallel directions from the same side. In Fig. X, I-have shown a stage of the knitting which corresponds to Fig. VI. The knitting is progressing in a counterclockwise direction in Figs. X-XII, in distinction to Figs. III to IX, but it is done this way primarily to emphasize the change in directionv of feeding the yarn, as the knitting could go in a clockwise direction equally well. The machine has just finished knitting from right to left on the needles I2, II, I0, 9 and 8 of the back bed,

the yarn having been laid in the hook of special needle 1, as in Fig. III, the needle retracted as in Fig. IV to draw a bight of yarn, and the needle advanced again so that the yarn clears the latch,;

as in Fig. V. Thereafter the yarn guide is moved from the left side of the figure to the right and lays the yarn in the hook not only of special needle 1 but of the needles 6--3 in the front bed, which in the meantime have been projected to receive the yarn. The vital difference, then, between Figs. X and VI is that, in distinction to the bight of yarn I1 in Fig. VI which came from the needle 6 in the opposite bed from the special needle 1, the bight of yarn 22 coming to the special needle 1 comes from the needle '-8 in the same bed with the needle 1. Thus, since the last needle to knit lies in the same bed as the special needle, the yarn does not approach that needle from a point beyond the head of the needle or substantially parallel to the needle, but in a direction at right angles to the shank of the special needle 1. It will be seen from Fig. X that this vafter the yarn is laid in the hook of` the special Zim-$63275?,

needle and the other needles inY thefront bed.

Inthis'wa'y ,there .1S no crossing of the legs of theyarn due to the manner'in which the yarn ispbrought to the needle. However, the yarn is still twisted varound the latch I6, and when the needle is retracted, as-shown in Figf. XI, the twist is inserted; Onthe next course of' knitting the crossed y0r closed stitch will be knocked off and willhang inthe fabric, `as-shovvn in Fig. XII.

It should be understood at this point that the crossing'of the legs due. to the direction in which the yarn` approaches thezneedle can be produced either byf'undery the, shanki-n the rst instance and overztheshank thereafter, as above described, oriover the shank intherst instance and under the shank thereafter, asshown in the abovementioned Emerson Patent No. 550,874. It should alsobenoted that the twist due to my latch twist method can beproduced. not only by the method above described but by one in which the yarn is laid ybelcw'the latchin the first instance, thereby eliminating thev needlemanipulations from Fig. III to Fig. IVto the :position of Fig. V. In other words, if desired, the special needle 'l can be projected far enough, or the yarn can be diverted, so that when first laid on'top ofthe needle the yarn will be` below the latch. It might be well to note before goingon with the discussion of the formation of the stitch in Figs. XIII to XIX that the special' twist or crossingsoccur on the bights of' yarn between the last needle to knit before the special needle and the special needle. Due to this fact, a twist comes inthe center of the eyelet. It is desirable to point out again that when using the latch to produce a twist or double crossing of the yarn, it is necessary that the previous needle to knit lie in the opposite bed `if itis desired to have the special stitch lie in the eyelet hole which'would otherwise be present.

In knitting orthopedic socks, the fashioning requirements are'such that at times it is desired to widen the fabric only, say, every sixth course oi the knitting, but at other times it is desired to widen the fabric two wales simultaneously in one course. (In this description the word "course is understood to mean a complete turn around the fabric, i. e., a row of stitches on each of the two beds.) In Figs. XIII to XVIII I have shown diagrammatically the manipulations of theY special needles and yarns, without showing the needle beds, which will enable me to produce my novel double latch twist of Fig.

II. As intimated, I *employv two special needles at the same time at the same end of the machine to produce this double stitch. As can be seen from the drawings, this involves a special needle 23in say the back bed of the machine and a special needle 24 in the front bed. Assuming that the knitting is `to progress around the machine in-a clockwise direction and that we are looking at the Vneedles in these Figs. XIII to XVIII from the left end `of the machine, it will beseen that the special needle 24 in the front bed is next to the regular needles in the front bedand that the specialneedle 23 in the back bed is the end needle of the group which is to participate in the knitting of the i'lrst widening course. end of the yarn I3 is intended to indicate that theyarn has been led from top to bottom of the figure, namely, toward the left end of the machine, andthe fact that the yarn lies underneath the shanks of both the special needles 23,

24, is intended'to indicate that these two needles were .projected afterthe yarn vcarrier had passed Starting with Fig. XIII, the arrow at thev 8.. andlaid .theyarn in this position. Thereafter the yarn carrier. moved toward the other end of the machine, feeding yarn to both the special needles and to all the regular needles in the back bed of the machine, the yarn carrier now being at the top of the gure, as indicated by the small arrow i-n Fig. XIV. Fig. XIV shows the needles retracted after the yarn carrier has passed. In the case of the regular needles, of course, this means that another stitch has been knocked over, but since there were no loops on the special needles 23 and 24 at this moment, the special needles merely drew small bights ofV yarn, as usual. As the knittingl progresses, the needles in the `front bed,including the'special needle 24, rise, clear their latches, and the yarn guide feeds yarn in the hooks of vall the active needles in the front bed, including the special needle 24. The condition of the` yarn and needles now is as shown in Fig. XV and in the course of regular knittingthe needles in the front bed arerretracted and knocked over, as shown in Fig. XVI. It will be observed that there is a crossing 25 in the yarn at the hook of the special needle 23 from the backv bed, the yarn now being completely wrapped around the hook of that needle. Thereafter the special needle 23 in the back bed is projected so that the crossed loop thereon is cleared below the latch of the needle, as shown in Fig. XVII and the yarn guide then proceeds to the right end of the machine, feeding yarn to the special needle `23 and the other active needles in the rear bed. The yarns are Vnow interlaced in the condition shown in Fig. XVII. Thereafter the needles in the rear bed are drawn down to knock over their stitches, and the crossed legs 25 are knocked over and 'hang on a new loop 26 on the special needle 23 of the rear bed. In ,order that the interlacement of the yarns at this time may be seen more clearly, the needles and yarns have been transposed in Fig. XIX so that it is as if the observer were looking from the right vend of the needle beds. It is observed'that a comparison of the interlacement of Fig. XIX and Fig. II will show I have produced the structure of Fig. II. This fabric is very much stronger than the ordinary suture and is adapted to maintain its shape and not be pulled out to produce an eyelet hole. As a matter of fact, this stitch in the finished fabric gives a corded cr cross appearance on the outside of the fabric which is ornamental and completely eliminates any suggestion of an eyelet hole. Other advantages of this double stitch include the following. The initial bight of yarn -the twist between the first and second special needles 23, 24 tight and close the hole. It will be noted that the cross 25 serves to grip two adjacent needle wales and lock them together so that they cannot be pulled apart, as would otherwise be their tendency.

Heretcfore in the specication I have been dealing with constructions in which it was desired to locate the special stitch in what would otherwise be an eyelet hole, and this will always be the result in widened fabric if the single or double crossings of Figs. III to IX and X to XII and the companion case of Figs. XIII to XIX are produced on the bights of yarn between the special needle and theactive needle preceding it.

There may be special circumstancs, howeven andere in which it is desired to lock the fabric near a point where an eyelet hole is expected, by using more than one special stitch. Thus, for example, it may be desired in a suture line which has been both narrowed and widened (as in the case of the ordinary plain heel and toe of a regular single stocking), to place one entire twisted stitch, such as in Fig. I, on each side of the point where the eyelet hole normally would be found. In this case the special stitches may also be in the narrowed fabric; and the crossings should be formed between the special needle and the needle which is to knit thereafter, rather than the preceding needle. This can be done, if desired, in successive wales. To use the special stitch 28 in narrowed fabric at the suture, the yarn is placed on top of the shank of the special needle. The machine then knits across the bed in which the special needle is located, thereby laying a bight of yarn across the needle, as in Fig. III. However, in the present case, there is a stitch already on the shank of the needle. The yarn guide then comes back and lays the yarn across the special needle again to get my latch twist. Apparently the yarn is crossed a second time because of the fact that the yarns connect to different courses inthe fabric. The stitch on the shank is cast oif with the other stitches in Fig. VII. It will be observed that the crossed legs serve to prevent enlargement. leading to an eyelet. The needle on which the latch twist stitch was made is the next needle to be put out of action. I have so far described the twisted stitch made in the narrowed fabric which is to be on one side of the eyelet hole. rlhe twisted stitch 29 on the other side of the eyelet hole is produced in the widened fabric by a similar manipulation. The stitches on both sides of the eyelet hole are shown in Fig. XX, the upper segment of the fabric being the narrowed one and the lower segment being the widened one. The stitches are on every wale. Obviously, this manipulation can be carried out on .any machine adapted to make a fashioned suture in seamless fabric.

The above-described fabric having been produced as part of a heel of an ordinary seamless stocking, it was made on a single bank of needles. If it were made on two banks, as in the case of the method of Figs. X, XI and XII, the yarn would go from the latch twist to the opposite bed, and the yarn crossing over on the outside would be that bight of yarn leading from the special needle to the next active needle.

While my latch twist method is peculiarly useful with pivoted latch needles, it will work equally well with that form of latch needle known as the sliding latch or the two-part needle.

It will be seen that while the direction in which the yarn must be laid across the special needle is reciprocatory, otherwise the knitting is not necessarily reciprocatory as far as the fabric is concerned.

Many uses of my invention which do not depart from the scope of my invention will occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of producing a closed stitch of weft knit fabric, the steps of laying a bight of yarn across the shank of a latch needle below the latch, returning the free end of that bight of yarn across the latch needle above the latch and causing the latch to be closed as the loop of yarn is formed around the latch, thereafter causing the loop thus formed to be moved from lo the latch onto the hook and around onto the shank, whereby the legs of the loop are crossed, and thereafter incorporating the loop into the knitted fabric.

2. In a method of producing a closed stitch in weft knit fabric, the steps of laying a bight of yarn across the shank of a latch needle below the latch, returning the free end of that bight of yarn across the latch needle above the latch and simultaneously causing the latch to be closed as the bight of yarn is drawn tight around the latch, thereafter causing the loop thus formed to be moved from the latch onto the hook and around onto the shank, whereby the legs of the loop are crossed, and thereafter incorporating the loop into the knitted fabric.

3. In a method of making fashioned weft knit fabric on one or more banks of latch needles by reciprocatory knitting, the steps of knitting toward one end of a group of needles by feeding yarn into the hooks of all the needles and knocking over all but the last needle to receive yarn, placing the bight of yarn lying on the last needle below the latch, then returning the free end of the yarn into the hook of said last needle and to the hooks of adjacent needles in the opposite direction, thus causing the yarn to be wound around the latch of the last needle to receive yarn, and thereafter causing the latch of that needle to close and the loop to be slid around the hook onto the shank of the needle, whereby the legs of the loop become crossed.

4. In a method of making widened weft knit fabric in accordance with claim 3, the steps of adding a wale by feeding yarn to the hooks of a group of needles of which all but the last needle to receive yarn have loops on their shanks, knocking over the loops on the needle shanks and placing the free end of yarn lying on the last needle below the latch, then turning the free end of the yarn into the hook of the last needle and to the hooks of adjacent needles in the opposite direction, thus causing the yarn to be wound around the latch of the last needle to receive yarn, and thereafter causing the latch of that needle to close and the loop to be slid around the hook onto the shank of the needle, whereby the legs of the loop become crossed and a wale is added to the fabric.

5. In a method of making narrowed weft knit.

fabric in accordance with claim 3, the steps of reducing by a wale by feeding yarn to the hooks of a group of needles all of which have loops on their Shanks, knocking over all the loops on all the needles except the last needle to receive yarn, and clearing the free end of yarn below the latch, then returning the free end of yarn into the hook of the last needle and t0 the hooks of adjacent needles in the opposite direction, thus causing the yarn to be wound around the latch of the last needle to receive yarn, then causing the latch to close and the loop to be slid around the hook onto the shank of the needle, whereby the legs of that loop become crossed, and thereafter knocking over the crossed loop.

6. In the manufacture of widened weft fabric by reciprocatory knitting on two opposed groups of latch needles, the steps of feeding yarn to the hooks of a group of needles of which all but the last needle to receive yarn have loops on their Shanks, knocking over the loops on the Shanks of the needles and placing the bight lying on the last needle below the latch, then returning the free end of the yarn across the needles in their hooks in the opposite direction, thus causing the,

facie-ses yarn to be wound around the latch of the last legs of the loop become crossed.

7. A method of making a crossed stitch in weft knit fabric of open stitches, comprising the steps of laying a yarn across the shank of a latch needle from a point above the hook of that needle, causing that yarn to be positioned below the latch of the needle, returning the free end of the yarn across the top of the shank of the needle in close juxtaposition therewith and at right angles to the length of the needle so that the free end crosses the yarn coming from the point above the top of the hook, thereafter closing the latch of the needle, thereby enclosing the yarn inside the hook, thereafter causing the loop thus formed to be moved onto the hook and thence to the shank of the needle, whereby the legs of the loop are crossed twice, and thereafter incorporating the loop in the knitted fabric as a stitch.

8. In a method of knitting on two banks of independent latch needles so as to produce a closed stitch on a selected needle, the steps of bringing the yarn from a needle of one bed across the top of the shank of the selected needle in the other bed in a direction away from the knitting, thereafter locating the bight of yarn below the latch of the selected needle and wrapping the free end of yarn around the latch of the selected needle by returning the free end of the yarn across the top 12 of the shank under the hook in the opposite direction before feedingit'to any other needle, then laying the yarn in the hooks ofadjacent needles in the same set with the selected needle while closing the latch of the selectedV needle and forcing the loop thus formed onto the hook and thence to the shank of the needle, whereby the legs of the loop on the special needle are crossed twice, and thereafter incorporating the twisted stitch in the fabric. p

CHARLES S. BENNINGTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 398,190 s001311 Feb. 19, 188,9 398,191 Scott Feb.- 19,v 1889 463,560 Wilcomb Nov; 17, 1891 463,561 Wilcomb Nov; 17, 1891 550,874 Emerson Dec. 3, 1895 654,694 Wilcomb July 31, 1900 654,695 Wilcomb July 31, 1900 1,983,914 McCann Dec. 11, 1934 2,120,035 Newberger June 7, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,657 Great Britain of 1881 27,088 Great Britain 0f 1896 

